Not So Perfect
by china-aruX3
Summary: After rejecting the wealthy aristocrat everyone expected her to marry, Elizaveta Héderváry knows she needs to escape the wrath of her social climbing step-father. Thankfully, she won't be alone. Her best friend Gilbert decides to come along for the ride.
1. Chapter 1

So why am I starting a new story when I should be writing my English essay? Because today is a beautiful day, I got just got two Terry Pratchett books, I'm listening to Frank Sinatra and life is just too damn good to waste doing homework. Anyway, on with the story!

Oh and I don't own hetalia.

* * *

It was a pleasant spring morning; not to warm but not to cold, flowers bursting with color, the birds singing sweetly. In the midst of nature's beautiful display, a tea party was being hosted by the prestigious Edelstien family. Only a hundred or so of the family's closest friends and acquaintances were invited to attend this special occasion. The guests were all having an enjoyable time exchanging pleasantries under the overcast English skies. The elegantly dressed ladies complimented each other profusely and gossiped, daintily eating small cakes and other sweets carried around on silver platters by swift and efficient servants. Meanwhile, the gentlemen talked business and politics; knocking back glasses of ale and laughing boisterously as they made fun of one another good-naturedly. Everyone was delighted to be there. Except, of course, the guest of honor.

_Oh lord, when will this be over?_ She thought to herself, fanning her face and forcing a polite smile at the rude Scottish man talking to her.

Her name is Elizaveta Héderváry. She is also sometimes referred to as Eliza by a select few, and only one person has the privilege of calling her 'Lizzy' without being beaten by kitchen utensils. It was of this person Elizaveta was thinking of at the moment.

_I can't believe it. Gilbert just got back from India yesterday and instead of listening to his adventure stories, I'm stuck here having to make small talk with a drunken Scotsman!_

"Oi! Girl are you paying attention?" The red-faced man yelled at her.

"Oh yes sir," she lied sweetly. "I find your opinions quite interesting."

"Good! Now, as I was saying, the British are a bunch of bastards 'cause..."

Elizaveta proceeded to tune the annoying man out again, letting her mind wander off to more interesting topics than the Scotsman's irrational hatred of Brits.

She didn't know it, but while her head was in the clouds, many surreptitious eyes stole quick glances at her. The ladies looked on approvingly of the beautiful jewelry and expensive looking dress she wore. The young girls glared enviously at her gorgeous waist-length chestnut hair and her pretty face. The men however, were far too preoccupied staring at her chest to notice that pretty face. And so they all watched her hungrily from afar, waiting expectantly for the main event to start. Meanwhile, Elizaveta, oblivious to their stares and to what the Edelsteins had in store for her, was inwardly cursing corsets in every language she knew.

_Mein Gott, whoever thought having a skinny waist was more important than breathing was an idiot._

She excused herself from the Scotsman, claiming that she had just seen an old friend that she just _had_ to go say hello to but it didn't to matter. He didn't seem to have heard her and was still raving about how much he hated England and all her citizens. Either way, she made her escape before he could notice she was gone.

_I need to get rid of this damn corset before I faint from lack of oxygen,_ she thought. _I wonder if I can sneak off to the woods for a minute to take it off?_

She strode off quickly through the crowd of well-dressed lords and ladies to the small forest the Edelsteins kept for hunting purposes. She was almost to the tree line when a pale hand suddenly grabbed her wrist in a vice-like grip.

"Oh Elizaveta! How nice that you could join us!" Mrs. Edelstein cooed in her nasal sounding voice, her grip on Elizaveta's wrist tightening.

"Well, um, actually-"

"Oh let me introduce you!" Mrs. Edelstein exclaimed happily, completely ignoring Elizaveta's feeble protests.

"Everyone, this is dear Elizaveta! Elizaveta, this is Mrs. Jones, she is the wife of a _very_ prominent merchant from America, and _this_ is..."

The introductions continued on for what Elizaveta thought was an eternity. Several times she tried to escape by claiming she needed to use the privy, but the words would die in her mouth as Mrs. Edelstein smiled at her coldly. She didn't release Elizaveta's wrist the entire time, and she was forced to remain and talk with the women of high society. After almost an hour of this agonizing chit-chat, Elizaveta was about ready to kill herself. As she contemplated whether or not it was possible to strangle yourself with a pearl necklace, she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned around; standing in front of her was none other than Mrs. Edelstein's son, Roderich.

"Oh Roderich, how lovely!" his mother exclaimed. "Is it time?"

Elizaveta glanced at the woman in confusion. _Time for what?_

Roderich nodded curtly, a serious expression on his face.

"Come along Elizaveta," he commanded sternly, grabbing the wrist his mother had finally pried her fingers from. Although grateful to finally get away, Elizaveta was still confused.

"Um, where are we going?" she asked perplexed as he dragged her through the colorful dresses and finely tailored suits.

"You'll see," was all he said in response.

Soon they arrived at a gorgeous white gazebo with blazing red roses curling up the sides. He led her inside then turned to face the guests, calling out, "Everyone, may I please have your attention for a moment?"

The congregation all looked up at him with excitement in their eyes. Silence fell. Once he commanded the undivided attention of every soul present, Roderich turned back to Elizaveta, just as expressionless as ever. He got down on one knee, pulling a sparkling ring from his pocket. He had been courting her for almost two years, it was only natural that he would eventually ask for her hand. Even though she knew this would happen eventually, Elizaveta was still shocked.

"Elizaveta Héderváry...will you marry me?"

Of course she would, it was expected of her. The Edelsteins were an important and powerful family, she would be happy to join them. She would say yes. Then the wedding would be planned and soon after she would have his child. She would be a good little wife, doing everything her husband told her to and host incredibly boring tea parties. Her life was all planned out.

She smiled down at her future husband and opened her mouth to say "yes."

"No."

"...What?"

He stared up at her incredulously, probably thinking that he had misheard.

"No way in hell will I marry you," she told the dumbstruck young man sweetly. She turned and walked away, leaving him kneeling there on the hard wooden floor of the gazebo, clutching the small ring. Elizaveta calmly strode off across the immaculate grounds of the Edelstein estate, leaving the astounded guests in her wake to gape at the sight of her retreating back.

* * *

I was as shocked as everyone else when I heard those words fall from my lips, if not more so.

"Now I wonder why I said that," I mumbled to myself as I strolled along. The ever so ladylike part of my mind answered my rhetorical question asking, _Why __did__ you say that? Oh goodness your stepfather will be ever so disappointed! Oh you simply must go back right now and beg for Roderich's forgiveness, then everything will be right again!_

I could picture her in my mind, a frail petite little thing wringing her hands together with worry.

_Oh shut it,_ another voice snapped at the first one. I stopped dead in my tracks. It had been so long since I had heard that voice that I almost forgot it even existed. It was a strong, confident voice, one that didn't give a damn about being proper or trying to please others. This was the voice of a girl who was her own woman, who did what she wanted, when she wanted, and like hell would she let anyone stop her.

_So Eliza_, the mental image of my old tomboy self asked. _how 'bout we go meet up with Gil and have a few pints huh?_

I grinned and continued on my way. _That sounds awesome. But first I have to get rid of this damn corset. Goodbye Ms. Elizaveta Héderváry. Welcome back Eli._

* * *

ok so this is set in old-timey England, like a pirates of the caribbean type era where everyone wore petticoats and all that jazz. And the thing about Eliza hearing two voices is supposed to be like her personal angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. I'm sorry if it seems weird :/ Also, when I was writing this I was picturing a movie scene. Then when I gave it to my friend Clayton to read and she was like, "wow this really reminds me of that one scene from that movie _!" Does anyone know what movie I'm talking about? I'll give you a cookie if you guess right! :)


	2. Chapter 2

It was a beautiful lazy afternoon. The usual overbearing gray clouds that were always looming above England had miraculously cleared, letting the warm rays of the sun brighten everything they fell on. The whole countryside was calm and peaceful; the wonderful sounds of birds singing and children laughing drifted up through the window of Gilbert Beilschmidt's bedroom. But, unfortunately, all of this wonderment was lost on Gilbert; he was currently in bed, snoring loud enough to raise the dead. Even though it was late in the day, he was out like a snuffed candle with no signs of waking up anytime soon. It wasn't too surprising actually. He had been out with his two best friends Antonio and Francis until the wee hours of the morning. He had stumbled back home at about four o' clock, half delusional from lack of sleep and ready to collapse right on the doorstep. But this was a normal occurrence, the servants were quite used to carrying their near-unconscious employer to bed after a long night of partying. Gilbert was also a lazy bum, so he slept past noon most days anyway. But on this day, instead of being left in peace to sleep the day away, a rude voice was yelling in his ear, dragging him reluctantly back to the land of the living.

_Ugh who's being so loud this early in the morning!_

My tired eyes fluttered open the tiniest degree and I noticed the way too bright sunlight streaming in through my window.

_...Ok maybe it's not morning...but that's still no reason to disturb my awesome nap!_

I closed my eyes again and gave a slight groan. I really didn't want to get up. Maybe this annoying person would leave soon. I was skirting the edge between dreaming and wakefulness, just about to fall into the dark inviting chasm of sleep, when that damn voice penetrated my ear again. I inwardly sighed.

_Go away, go away, go away, go awaaaay! Just leave me alone verdammt!_ But no, the stupid person kept on yelling, determined to wake me up. Who was this person anyway?

My thoughts were still fuzzy and befuddled. I frowned in confusion as I tried to figure out who the mystery person was.

_Is it one of the servants? No, it doesn't sound like any of them...but why does that voice sound so familiar?_

"...I swear Gilbert, if your don't get up in the next five seconds I'm going to go down to the kitchen and get a big old cast iron frying pan-"

"I'M UP I'M UP!" I screamed, jolting up and clawing at the bedsheets, still half asleep.

_All I heard was 'frying pan,' oh god don't hit me Lizzy I'm too awesome to die! - whoa, wait a minute, LIZZY?_

A little more awake after my moment of terror, I looked up. I was amazed to see the slightly annoyed but still smiling face of my childhood friend, unsure if she was really here or if I was still dreaming. I wouldn't be surprised, she looked totally different than the last time I saw her. Instead of one of those fancy expensive dresses that were all the rage in France, she wore a simple white and green peasants dress. Instead of an elaborate bun, her hair was down and looked slightly disheveled. There wasn't a trace of makeup on her face and a real smile graced her features, not that carefully calculated polite smile that she normally put on. I don't think she ever looked more beautiful.

_When did she get here? Isn't she supposed to be at the Edelstein estate?_

A sharp pain stabbed my heart at that thought, but Lizzy didn't notice, she just smirked at me.

"Wow Gil, it took me a full ten minutes to wake you up. Feli wasn't kidding when he said you sleep like a log."

Ignoring her comment, I stared up at her incredulously. "Why are you here? I thought you had to go to that big tea party thing?" I tried my best to keep the bitterness out of my voice. I hope it worked.

"Oh, I ditched it," she replied nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders.

"...huh?"

"I said I ditched it."

"...really?"

She sighed and turned to walk out the door.

"Yes Gil, really. It was boring. Now get dressed and come downstairs, Feli made some food for you."

I could only stare and gape at her like a fish out of water. Countless questions swam around in my head.

_I thought the whole party was so that pansy aristocrat could propose to her! Did he not have the guts to do it? And what happened to little ms. prim and proper? _

I finally found my voice again as she reached the doorway. "Wait, Lizzy," I said desperately, my hand reached out as if to grab her arm. She paused on the threshold and looked back at me curiously.

"Hmm?"

"What happened to being a lady?"

She shot me a devilish smile and there was a mischievous look in her emerald eyes.

"Screw being a lady!" she shouted vehemently, her hair and dress flying out behind her as she flounced out of my room. I just sat there on my bed, gazing vacantly at the now empty space she had previously occupied, completely dumbstruck.


	3. Chapter 3

Aiyahh, sorry this took a while-aru. I rewrote a few parts added some more stuff so it took longer than I thought and I've got really limited computer time. I'm sorry the last chapter was kinda short, I wanted to post something but I didn't have time to type anything more. I also didn't have time to edit or insert line breaks or put in authors notes and shtuff. :[ I'll try to go back and fix it when I get the chance. Oh and the movie scene I based the first chapter off of was indeed Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. Congrats to the people who got it right! And I know I replied to a couple reviews, but I can't really remember which ones...so to prevent me from confusing myself, I'm going to reply here:

SpaztasticWolf: I love you. Like a lot. You are now my bestest friend ever! (glomps)

Kigaroo: Thank you! I'll try to update as fast as possible :)

DecietfulHonesty: Yep you got it! Here's a plate of internet cookies! ^_^

Sharonitaw: I'm 86% sure I've already replied to you...but if I didn't then here's some internet cookies!

You guys and everyone who faved/added this to story alerts are so super special awesome! I love you all! ^_^

And another thing, I'm going to switch POV a lot in this story. Some parts just sound so much better in third person and I like to show both Elizaveta's and Gilbert's perspectives.

Still don't own hetalia!

* * *

Still in a daze, I did as she told me to, throwing on a comfortable white shirt and an old pair of work pants before heading downstairs.

_This is so weird,_ I thought as I padded down the elegant wood staircase barefoot.

_Ever since that damn aristocrat started courting her she was always trying to be her best to be the perfect lady. Why did she suddenly change? ...Not that really mind,_ I added as I caught a glimpse of her goofing off and laughing with Feli in the kitchen.

_I'm glad she's back to her old self again,_ I thought, walking down the last few steps to join them and get something to appease my growling stomach.

I waltzed into the kitchen, yawning and rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"Ve~ Good morning Mr. Gilbert!" Feli chirped.

"it's not morning Feli," Lizzy said from her seat at the counter, a cup of coffee in her hands and smile playing around her lips.

"Oh...well then good afternoon Mr. Gilbert!" Feli amended giggling as he busied himself preparing lunch for the household. I just laughed and ruffled the auburn hair of my adorable little Italian cook.

"So what's there to eat Feli? I'm starving!" I said as I took a seat across from Lizzy.

"Pasta!~" He smiled brightly, placing a bowl of the stuff in front of me.

I chuckled to myself before looking up at his cheerful face. "Don't you ever get tired of pasta?"

His eyes popped open with shock. "Ve? How could anyone get tired of pasta?" he exclaimed, waving his hands wildly as if that was the most absurd thing he had ever heard. Lizzy and I laughed but were interrupted by the arrival of a fluffy yellow ball flying in through the open window. The little creature fluttered down and nestled itself in my slivery hair.

"There you are Gilbird! I was wondering where you had wandered off to!" I reached up to pet my fuzzy bird. Lizzy was staring at him with a skeptical look on her face.

"Gilbert, what the heck is that thing?"

"How rude!" I scoffed. "This is Gilbird! The most awesome pet ever!" Gilbird cheeped in agreement with me, clearly offended by Lizzy's disrespectful tone.

"Uh-huh, sure."

"You're so mean to my poor Gilbiiiiiiirrd!" I cried, snatching the small bird off my head and hugging him to my chest to protect him from the evil bird-hating Hungarian. "How could you be so cruel Lizzy?" Gilbird keened along with me pitifully. She rolled her eyes, but I could tell she was trying her hardest to hide the smile about to break out on her face.

"Oh stop being so dramatic. Where did you get him anyway?"

"I found him in India." Our theatrics over for now, I returned Gilbird to his perch on my head where he snuggled back down in my hair. "Do you guys want to hear about my trip?"

"Yeah!" Lizzy said excitedly, leaning forward in her seat.

"Vee!~ Story time!" Feli plopped down in the chair next to Lizzy, completely ignoring the huge mess he had left from cooking. I smirked, glad to have such an attentive audience. I plunged into the thrilling tale of my time abroad while i ate my pasta; all the strange and unique people I had met, the wonderful goods I bought and the amazing things I had seen. They hung on my every word, enraptured, and their eyes were as wide as dinner plates. They wanted to know everything about my journey and bombarded me with questions.

I was right in the middle of telling them about the time I almost got stepped on by an elephant when my younger brother came in.

"Feliciano, what's taking so long- oh."

"Hallo bruder!" I grinned cheekily at him, but Ludwig just looked down at me sternly.

"Gilbert, why are you distracting Feliciano from his duties?"

"Aw, come on Luddy! We were just talking for a while!"

He wasn't moved. "Out," he commanded, pointing at the door.

"Oh fine," I grumbled. Saying a quick goodbye to Feli, Lizzy followed me out the door. Since there was nothing better to do, we ended up taking a walk around the gardens, just hanging out like in the good old days when we were kids. I told her more about India, and she filled me in on what had been happening while I was away.

"Hey Gil?"

"Yeah?"

"Want to go get some beer?"

I started a bit when she asked that. "Uh, sure." _What is up with her? Not that I'm going to turn down a chance to get drunk, but still, she's acting really weird..._

She smiled and we were off. She led me purposely through town and we soon arrived at a cozy little tavern not too far from home. _How does she even know where the local bars are? Ladies aren't supposed to go drinking! _When we entered I had to admit it was a pretty nice place, the people there didn't look too seedy and it was fairly clean.

We walked up to the bar and Lizzy surprised me yet again by pulling out money for the drinks.

"What?" she asked, seeing my incredulous face as she handed the coins to the landlady in exchange for two large tankards.

I put on a smirk to try and hide my growing confusion. "Isn't it _unseemly_ for a young lady to be carrying money?" I asked, putting as much scorn on the word 'unseemly' as I could muster.

She simply scoffed at me. "Like I said, to hell with being a lady." She then proceeded to take a huge drought from her tankard in the most unladylike manner physically possible.

* * *

Although Gilbert simply smirked at her response and appeared to shrug it off, Elizaveta could see right through him. Behind that smirk his eyes were bewildered, clearly still wondering about his friend's sudden change of heart. The unasked questions burned in his deep crimson eyes, but amazingly, he didn't press the topic, deciding instead to shut up for the first time in his life and content himself with a long swig of beer.

"Hey Lizzy, I bet I can out drink you."

"Pssh, you are so on."

They stumbled out of the bar around midnight, their arms around each others shoulders for support as they sang bawdy songs and made their way unsteadily down the street.

"That was fun," Elizaveta giggled when they finished singing.

"Kesesese! It sure was!"

They spent an hour wandering around town in a drunken stupor. Somehow they wound up in small park on the outskirts of town, the full moon shining her radiance on the silent scenery. Finding a bench, Elizaveta collapsed on it and sighed contentedly, leaning her head back to look at the stars. Smirking as always, her albino friend took a seat next to her. For a few minutes they just sat there, taking time to appreciate the blissful silence and enjoy each others company as the cool, crisp night air cleared their minds and made them sober up a little. But naturally, spurred on by the alcohol, Gilbert's burning curiosity got the better of him.

* * *

"...Why?"

My best friend looked up at me with confusion in her eyes, her head cocked to the side in an adorable way.

Trying not to think about how cute she looked, I continued. "Why did you suddenly decide to go drinking with me? We haven't done that in years. Why did you change from an uptight lady back to a wild tomboy? And why have you been so anxious today?"

Lizzy flinched involuntarily at my last question. I bet she thought I didn't notice how she kept looking over her shoulder, how she was spacing out a lot, or how she couldn't stop fidgeting, as if she was nervous about something. Most people wouldn't have noticed, but I did. Lizzy was my best friend in the whole world, I knew when there was something wrong. Normally, I would've left it alone since she didn't like being fussed over, but I couldn't stand that worried look in her eyes. I needed to know what was going on, I needed to help her in any way I could. She looked away and refused to meet my gaze, instead choosing to stare intently at her lap. It was a while before she finally answered, still looking down.

"...You know how I ditched the party this morning?"

"Yeah?"

"Well...Roderich proposed to me."

_...So he did propose? But, wait a minute..._

I stared at her quizzically, more perplexed than ever. "So...what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be picking out a white dress with the in-laws and stuff?"

"What the hell Gil!" She finally met my gaze, a disgusted look on her face and that old fire back in her eyes. "Are you daft? I said no you idiot!"

"W-what?" My heart was stuttering even worse than my voice.

"I. Said. No. he asked me to marry him, and I said no. That's why I left the party. If I had hung around any longer, I bet Mrs. Edelstein would've killed me." She laughed at my dumbfounded expression. "Really Gil, it's not hard to understand."

_Oh yes Lizzy, it is. If I ever said anything negative about that prick, you would defend him and hit me with a frying pan. He's a refined gentleman, caring and kind, he's everything you ever wanted...isn't he?_

Seeing the girl I love laughing next to me, saying that she _wasn't_ leaving my side to get married, I couldn't help but think; _...This isn't real. It can't be real. I bet this is what happened: Lizzy told me she was getting married and I went off drinking to drown in my misery and depression. This is just a drunken dream._

"You honestly believed I wanted to marry him? Jeez Gil, I thought you knew me better than that!"

_Yep. Definitely a drunken dream._

Her giggles subsided as I continued to ogle at her, completely speechless.

"You know what though?" she said wiping a tear of laughter from her eye. "I almost said yes. I almost threw away my life to be a posh little aristocrat." A tiny smile graced her beautiful features, and her emerald eyes got a far away look in them. The tone of her voice made it seem as though Lizzy had forgotten I was even there. "I really was going to say yes," she mused to herself. "Everyone expected me to. Roderich was supposed to be a good match. He's elegant and comes from a prominent family; most girls could only dream of marrying someone like him. But when I opened my mouth to say yes...the word 'no' slipped out. I didn't mean to, it was unconscious."

Somehow I was able to shut my jaw and stop gaping at her but I still couldn't find my voice. Lizzy glanced back at me and seemed to realize I wasn't able to speak, but wanted her to go on. She leaned back, staring up at the sky as she continued.

"I think the inner tomboy in me despised the thought of being a lady so much that I couldn't say yes. And I was never happy when I was trying to be a lady. In fact, I was miserable. Always trying so hard to live up to their standard but never succeeding. It was pointless. I thought a lot about what to do after I left the party...My step-father is going to be furious I didn't accept...so I'm leaving. I decided to grab as much money as I could, have one last night of fun, then disappear before he can catch me. I always did want to travel the world like you do. I've wasted enough time here pretending to be something I'm not."

"I'm coming with you." The words escaped from my mouth before I had even realized it. She just rolled her eyes at me.

"I don't need any protection or anything Gil. I'll be fine by myself."

"Oh, so you don't want the help and expertise of a professional adventurer?" I asked skeptically. Lizzy contemplated me thoughtfully, realizing the validness of my point. That, and the fact that there was no way she was getting rid of me. I'd follow her to the ends of the Earth, whether she wanted me to or not.

"Alright then, you can tag along.

"AWESOME!" I punched the air with excitement. She chuckled as she got off the bench then offered me a hand; the moonlight illuminating her dazzling smile.

"I guess we better get going then, huh?"

I took her hand and stood up, a huge grin plastered across my face.

_This might just be a dream, but it's a damn good one and I don't want it to ever end._

* * *

"How dare she? _How dare she!_ I won't bear this insult!" the old woman screeched, banging her fist on her wooden desk. The step-father of the girl in question sat there calmly listening to Mrs. Edelstein's angry outburst. When she was done, with quiet, controlled rage that showed clearly in every syllable, he replied, "Rest assured Madam, Elizaveta will not go unpunished."

* * *

Oh noes! A cliffhanger type thing! D: -shot-

Yeah I don't know why, but I really like writing Mrs. Edelstein. She's just such an uptight bitch I can't help but like her ^_^ and apparently Gilbird is Indian. O_o yeah i don't even know, don't ask

Ok just to explain, Gilbert and Ludwig are merchants. They own a small ship that Gilbert uses to travel to far off places looking for exotic things to bring back to England. Antonio and Francis are part of Gil's crew; Tonio is the first mate and Francis is the cook. For their recent trip they went to India and were gone for 6 months. Ludwig gets the boring job of selling the stuff Gil brings back and doing all the paperwork. And also, most of my knowledge of old-timey England comes from the Bloody Jack series (you should go read it! It's really good!) and apparently, rich people didn't actually carry money with them; it wasn't "appropriate" for someone of high status to handle money. They had servants for that don't cha know? :P

Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, I didn't have anyone read over this so I don't really know if it's good or not :| and I'm not saying that to fish for compliments, I really can't tell if I ever get my point across in my writing or if it makes sense. Meh, oh well. please tell me if there's any mistakes so i can fix them! jeez my author's notes are long. im gonna shut up now

...or not. fanfiction is being a brat right now and i can't upload for some reason...grrr

hey this chapter is 2900 some words long! thats the longest chapter ive ever writtem! :D i wonder if i can get to 3000 with this pointless rambling?

la la la hey you know what song i think fits Elizaveta perfectly? the lady is a tramp by frank sinatra

lol i wonder if anyone read this whole thing :P hey look! i got to 3000 words! coool ^_^ lets see if fanfiction is working again yet so i can finally post this shall we?

nope. still not working. damn

hey someone figured out how to update even though fanfiction is still being a bitch! here's what you do:

**when error 2 shows up, in the URL you'll see something saying 'property' or 'properties' **

**e.g. story_edit_property**

**change the 'property' or 'properties' to 'content'**

**and then all is well :D HAPPY UPLOADING LOLOLOLOLLL**

SPREAD THE WORD!

AAAIYAAH I ALMOST FORGOT! i made a poll, please go vote on it! thank you!


	4. Chapter 4

So I thought to myself, _hey! It's spring break! I can use all this free time to update my stories!_ Then when I went to type, I realized that I only have 3 more pages of this written out and I haven't thought out whats going to happen next D:

On the other hand, I have a lot written out for my other story, which has been sadly neglected for a long time. So after this chapter I'll be focusing more on that one instead. Sorry :( But I promise I'll do my best to update both of them as soon as I can! ok time to reply to reviews!

Caca: ^_^ (huggy)

cutekittenlady: thank you! And I promise Eli and Gil will get into some, shall we say, 'interesting' situations XP like getting chased by rabid monkeys

SpaztasticWolf: I was in earth science class (which is REALLY boring and I sit next to a moron) when I decided to check my phone for messages. I saw that I had a review alert so I was like :D then I actually read your review and I was like X) And actually your review gave me a really good idea for a future chapter! And don't worry, at some point someone is gonna get punched in the face. Or at least severely bitch-slapped and kicked in the nadgers :)

darkmistressofsilence92: Yaay! (hugs)

Story Weaver1: wow...I'm honored, you make it sound as if I actually know what the heck I'm doing! I honestly think your reviews are better written than the story! Thank you so much :)

Kigaroo: lol I'd love to have Gil as a tour guide :)

Now on with the story! Oh wait, gotta do the disclaimer:

I own hetalia not!

Anything else? Oh yeah, there's a poll on my profile, please go vote! Pretty please?

* * *

"Oi! What are you drunks doing here? Get off my property!"

_Uhg, so rude. And why do they have to be so loud?_ I blinked blearily at the unexpected sunlight flooding in through the barn doors. When my eyes adjusted to the blinding rays of the sun, I was able to make out the figure of a tall man wearing overalls. He appeared to be a farmer. A very angry farmer. _Jeez buddy, what did we ever do to you?_

I looked around and realized I was laying on a bed of hay. Dim recollections of last night came staggering back through the sleepy haze in my mind. _Oh yeah Gil and I snook into a barn to spend the night. No wonder this guy is pissed at us. _Groaning from my stiff back I reluctantly stood up from my warm pile of hay.

"Sorry sir. We'll be leaving now."

"Damn right you'll be leaving!" came his irritated retort from behind me as I turned to rouse the still sleeping Gilbert.

"Gil. Gilbert. Come on, wake up. We have to go now." I shook his shoulder gently and his eyes slowly opened. He gazed up at me, his deep crimson eyes glazed with drowsiness, a tiny smile gracing his features. It was adorable really. The morning sun was shining on his silver hair, making it glow like a halo around his pale face. And with his happy carefree smile, he almost looked like an angel.

...But when his eyelids started to close again, annoyance replaced my awe, and all thoughts of Gilbert being angelic in any way were completely forgotten.

"Gilbert! Get your lazy ass up!" I shouted and shook him a lot rougher than before until he jolted awake.

"Aaah! Huh? Hey, what was that for?" he asked sitting up and rubbing his eyes with his fists. "I was having an awesome dream where Gilbird could talk, and we were in China for some reason-"

"HEY! Are you gonna get lost already or do I have to chase you vagabonds out with my pitchfork?"

With much grumbling about the farmer's lack of hospitality, we ambled out of the barn very slowly just to be annoying, exchanging glares with him the whole way. We walked down the small hill the barn rested on to the gate that marked the entrance to the farm. Once out of earshot, I said, "The nerve of that guy! All we did was sleep in his barn for the night, he didn't have to be so rude."

Gilbert smirked. "Actually Lizzy, I have a plan to get back at him." He leaned in to whisper in my ear and an evil grin slowly spread across my face.

Fifteen minutes later we were sprinting down the hill, arms laden with pilfered food cackling like hyenas as the farmer screamed profanities at us. _I wonder how he will react when he realizes we took more than food? _Suddenly I heard gun shots. Chancing a quick glance over my shoulder, I saw the farmer, a rifle in his hands and murder in his green eyes. I just laughed louder. _He really shouldn't leave his money lying around in the open. It was practically begging to be stolen, and that safe was really easy to open when Gil hit it with a hammer._

* * *

Sadiq Adnan was not pleased. He had just returned from a short business excursion and instead of finding a shiny new ring on his step-daughter's finger and preparations for a lavish wedding, all that he was met with was a raging old hag screaming at him.

He sighed. This was not what was supposed to happen. He thought he had tamed that wild girl, but she just _had_ to ruin his plans. If everything had gone accordingly, Elizaveta would be getting ready for her wedding, and Sadiq would be closing an extremely important business deal with the Edelsteins.

His mouth turned down in a scowl as he left Mrs. Edelstein's chambers. The deal certainly wasn't going to happen now, now that the stupid girl had offended one of England's wealthiest and most prominent families with no hope of atonement. Sadiq strode out of the enormous manor house, his mind filled with furious and vehement thoughts.

_Look at this! All this grandeur! All this luxury! I would've been able to afford a manor as glorious as this! I would've been able to retire to a life of ease if only that damn girl had done as she was told and marry that pansy boy Roderich! But naturally, she decides to run off and make me fall out of good graces with the Edelsteins. That little bitch._

A carriage was waiting for him at the entrance of the mansion, and the footmen hurriedly prepared for departure at the sight of him. Without a single word of thanks to the servant who dutifully handed him up into the carriage, Sadiq instead snapped at the driver like an angry turtle,

"Get back to my estate then immediately send out a search party. I'll get that girl back if it's the last thing I do."

His scowl was darker than ever as the driver flicked his whip and they sped off.

* * *

The blond-haired German looked up from his newspaper, as if he had just remembered something.

"Hey Feliciano?"

"Ve~ Yes Mr. Ludwig?"

The young Italian glanced at his employer from over his shoulder as he washed dishes. Ludwig peered at the little cook from his seat at the kitchen counter, a look of slight confusion on his face.

"Where's Gilbert? I haven't seen him all day."

Feliciano smiled brightly and cheerfully replied, "Oh he and Eliza ran off together!~"

"WHAT?"

* * *

"Hey Gil, what do you think we should do now?" We were hiding in a small forest from the murderous farmer and looking through our loot.

He pondered my question, a thoughtful look on his face as he bit off a hunk of bread from a stolen loaf. After a moment, he swallowed and his eyes lit up.

"We should go to Australia!"

"Australia? That's a long way away Gil. Don't you want to explore the rest of Europe first?"

"No!" he pouted. "I've already seen Europe, Australia is one of the few places I haven't ever been before!"

I couldn't help but laugh, he looked so cute when he was pouting. "Alright, Australia it is."

"Awesome!"

"Now, how do you propose we get there?"

"...Damn"

* * *

Hey look! I finally revealed who Eliza's step-father is! I actually stole the idea of Sadiq being her step-father from MizAb and their story Titanic: The Road To Tomorrow. Its really really good, you should go read it!

And now Lizzy and Gil are off to Australia! One day, one glorious day, I too will go to Australia, where I will drink Bundaberg Rum with a polar bear and we will sing 'we wish England were Australia' while we feast upon a beloved Australian icon. HUZZAH.

It's snowing. It's spring break, and it's snowing outside. Naturally.

You are free to ignore my pointless rambles. LALA DE LA LA LA

Have you ever heard the song 'picture perfect' by every avenue? I really like it and I think it fits this story really well.

I don't think this chapter turned out too good...oh well. hopefully the next one will be better. and sorry if there's any mistakes in this chapter :\

I think that's it...I'm gonna go play with duct tape and gum wrappers now...or maybe go eat some pancakes. Ta-ta!


	5. Chapter 5

There are several types of writers on fanfiction net. There's the people who write really short chapters and update very frequently, and then there's the people who don't update for weeks and weeks but when they do, it's a really long chapter.

Sadly, I am neither of these types. I am the evil type who doesn't update for ages and when I do it's really short. The reason for this is I've had almost no computer time! ive been trying to type this one chapter for practically a month now D: This is pretty much how my life has been going:

me: ok! Im gonna update today! (phone rings) oh hey I got a text. I wonder what it says.

Text: 'Hey Lindsay! Wanna come see a movie with me? -katy'

Sweet! Movie time!

(comes home at 10) oh time for bed. Guess I didn't update today.

(next day)

me: aahh, what a beautiful day! I think I'm going to go on a nice long walk with my dog, maybe update my fanfics...and I have two tests tomorrow I totally forgot about...shit

(spends the rest of the afternoon studying)

(next day)

mom: Lindsay, you need to pack for our trip to Canada.

me: CANADIA! :D

(spends all day over-packing)

so yeah, thats pretty much my life. There's always _something_ that gets in the way of me being able to type up a new chapter. (sigh)

now time to reply to reviews! Dang this is turning out to be a long author's note huh?

anime fangirl64: thank you! Sorry I didnt update sooner :[

SpaztasticWolf: (huggles) :)

morbid sunshine: thank you! And I'm sorry for making you wait for this chapter :(

Kigaroo: holy crap are you psychic or something? :O

Story Weaver1: thank you so much I'm glad my story was able to make you laugh ^_^

KiDGE: you are awesome XP

And to everyone who faved or added this to their story alerts, I love you all and you are all super amazing!

On with the story! I don't own Hetalia!

* * *

"Hey, did you hear what happened?"

"Someone told me that-"

"The old hag? Really?"

"Are you pulling my leg?"

"You're kidding right? There's no way-"

"Haha! Serves that stupid bitch right!"

"That must have taken a lot of nerve for her to go against Mrs. Edelstein like that."

"Good for her, the cheeky little lass!"

Despite the best efforts of the Edelstein family, word soon spread about Elizaveta's rejection of Roderich. The rumors and speculations spread like wildfire, the town was ablaze with the news: Someone had stood up to the evil Mrs. Edelstein? Preposterous!

The tale quickly escalated and grew in the telling; many claimed that the girl had fled the Edelstein estate on a stolen horse after snatching the expensive engagement ring and chucking it into the Edelstein's ornamental lake. One maid in the Edelstein household swore to anyone that would listen that she had seen Elizaveta punch Mrs. Edelstein right in the face. Elizaveta Héderváry was on her way to becoming a legend.

"Three cheers for Elisabeth whats-her-name!" a burly man called out, standing on a barstool. The crowd of people in the tavern looked up at him and laughed.

"I think her name is Elizaveta, Bill!" a voice called out from the back.

"Oh whatever," Bill said, taking another swig from his giant tankard. The crowd cheered as he lost his balance and fell spectacularly over the bar and onto the floor.

In the midst of peasants celebrating the Edelstein's misfortune, five interested pairs of ears pricked up.

* * *

The tanned man sitting near the tavern door put down his drink and looked to his companion with puzzlement. "Hey Francis, isn't Gilbert's friend named Elizaveta?"

The man with shoulder length blond hair sitting next to him took another sip of his wine, his expression turning thoughtful.

"It must be the same girl, Elizaveta isn't a common name...I think we missed something important while we were down working at the docks. Come on 'Tonio, let's go see Gil and ask him about it."

The two men paid for their drinks and left the tavern, looking for their friend.

* * *

"What's the big deal about this Eliza girl-aru?"

The long haired Asian man looked to his youngest brother with a questioning gaze. The third, raven haired brother looked up too, too polite to ask the question himself, but still curious.

"Oh yeah, you two just got here so you wouldn't know." The youngest brother, whose name was Yong Soo, took another drink of his beer and recounted the story.

"You see, the richest family of this area is the Edelstein family. Apparently they're a bunch of snobs and everyone hates them. Any-waaay, this kid, Roderich Edelstein, asked her to marry him and she said no. It was humiliating for them, and if that wasn't bad enough, the girl ran off and no one can find her anywhere."

Yao, the eldest, sat back in his chair, contemplating what Yong had told him.

"So...these Edelstein people..." he said slowly, voicing his thoughts aloud. "They must be quite eager to bring her back, yes-aru?"

The middle brother Kiku nodded, not quite sure where Yao was going with this.

"Yes...I expect they would want revenge on the girl who dishonored them."

"Hmmmm...I think I have an idea-aru..."

The younger brothers watched as a smirk grew across Yao's face and exchanged knowing smiles. They knew exactly what that smirk meant. It meant that they were going to get a big fat payoff, and soon.

* * *

In the farthest shadows of the bar, a young girl sat unnoticed. She drank nothing, she just sat there and listened. Her brother loved vodka, but she didn't care for alcohol. It dulled the senses, and being sharp and alert was crucial in a job like hers.

"-wonder where she ran off to?"

"The old hag is certainly furious!"

"- finally put that bitch in her place!"

"Just because she's rolling in money doesn't mean she has the right to look down on us hardworking folk!"

After several minutes of listening to multiple conversations revolving around Elizaveta Héderváry and the scandal she had caused, the platinum blond haired girl stood up and dusted off her violet dress. She stepped over a drunk man sprawled unconscious on the floor, and stealthily made her way to the door, carefully avoiding the three all too familar Asian men she had spied earlier sitting in the back.

_I must inform big brother about this._

* * *

"Who the hell are you and what do you want?" the blond haired man snapped angrily as he wrenched open his front door.

Heracles Karpusi _not_ having a good day. He didn't want to be doing this, having to deal with angry farmers had _not_ been on his do to list. He wanted to be home, taking a nap with his kitties, but of course, his stupid boss had to make _him_ the one to lead the search party. The man really went out of his way to make the poor Greek miserable.

They had been searching all the nearby places searching for her, trying to figure out where Elizaveta was going. It was mostly unsucessful, but they had finally found a lead at the last bar which led them to the small farm on the hill. Heracles really, _really_ needed a nap about now, he was exausted after the long day of searching. But the sooner Elizaveta was found, the sooner he could go home to his precious kitties!

With this in mind, he squared his shoulders and looked the other man in the eye.

"Hello...my name is...Heracles, and-"

"Yeah, yeah, hi, now what do you want?"

Heracles frowned at the annoyingly impatient man, but continued anyway.

"Are you...Mr. Zwingli?"

"Yes, who wants to know?" he asked suspiciously.

"I work for...Mr. Adnan, and I'm leading...the search party...for his step-daughter...who ran away. We heard...you had some intruders. Was she...one of them?"

Mr. Zwingli opened the door wider, his interest peaked.

"Brown hair? Green eyes?"

Heracles nodded. "That's her...can you tell me...where she went?"

The blond man had a guarded, calculating look.

"Why should I? What's in it for me?"

Heracles sighed again and reached into his pocket for the pouch Mr. Adnan said would "smooth things along" when dealing with troublesome people. Wordlessly, he handed the small bag to Mr. Zwingli who smirked at the happy clinking noise that came from it. Not looking up from his prize, he pointed to the woods.

"She ran off into the forest. There's a small tavern about three miles to the east, you'll probably find her there."

"Thank you...very much."

The Greek left and Mr. Zwingli shut the door, leaning against it for support as he counted the loot. His eyes widened as he looked in the small bag.

...The coins were _gold_, all _pure gold_. He smiled gleefully and called up the stairs to the young girl who shared his house.

"Lili! You know that new dress you wanted? Well I'm taking you shopping and you can get anything you want!"

* * *

Omg subplots! And like Kigaroo guessed, the farmer guy is actually Vash! Originally the farmer was just going to be a pointless OC, but then I realized he needed to make a second appearance and I thought: hey, I'll make him more interesting by making him a hetalia character! So I dropped what I _thought_ were subtle hints by saying he had green eyes and giving him a rifle. Obviously they weren't subtle enough. XP


	6. Chapter 6

Review reply time!

Ciera: yep! You get free internet cookies! :)

SpaztasticWolf: thank you! I hope to have more chapters up soon!

Kigaroo: Asians ftw! X]

Story Weaver1: lol Switzy always comes out ahead! :)

alexanimelvr: why thank you! I'm so glad you like it :)

Striped-Jeans: thanks! I'll try to update more often!

StarShapedCookies: thank you! Gotta love those Asians XP

So I was looking at hetalia character profiles and I saw Turkey's. He actually seems like a really cool guy, and now I feel kinda bad for making him an ass in my stories.

And yes, you read that right! I now have _two_ stories where Turkey is a side character and an ass! But one of them isn't posted yet. :\

Remember that poll I had asking you guys what I should write next? Well I just closed it and here are the results:

one person voted for a pruhun loosely based off of the little mermaid,

one person voted for a pirate spamano,

two people voted for a romeo and juliet style pruhun,

and two people voted for "don't start any new stories you idiot! you need to work on the stories you already have!"

and now that I have seen the results, I am going to completely ignore them! :D -shot-

sorry guys but I've had _at least_ fifteen new story ideas since I made that poll and some of them just I'm _dying_ to write! I've started a few of them and will be posting them soon! (and of course by "soon" I obviously mean "probably in about a year or so". Mein Gott at the rate I'm going right now I'll be fifty before I get around to writing and posting all of my story ideas ; ; )

But rest assured, I am working on the stories I already have and the romeo and juliet pruhun! I've decided that once I have ten full written pages I'll start posting it to avoid starting something I can't finish.

Don't own hetalia, on with the story!

* * *

Antonio and Francis were calmly walking down the stone pathway to Gilbert and Ludwig's large house when they suddenly heard a strangled cry and hysteric "ve!" noises from within. Glancing worriedly at each other, they sprinted to the door and wrenched it open, dashing inside.

"Hello? Ludwig? What's..." Francis trailed off as he and Antonio were met with a strange sight: Feli, sobbing hysterically, was being shaken by a frantic Ludwig. The normally calm and collected German looked about ready to rip his hair out.

"Feli! Tell me everything! What do you mean Gilbert and Elizaveta ran off together? ! ?"

"Gil and Eliza ran off?" Antonio asked curiously, cocking his head to the side in an adorable fashion.

"Oh hon hon! Good for him! I didn't know he had it in him to run off with a girl!" Francis cheered.

Ludwig looked over at the pair, the crazed look in his eyes diminishing slightly and replaced with puzzlement.

"Um...What are you doing here?"

"We came to find Gilbert. We...heard some rumors..."

* * *

_T-tmp...T-tmp...T-tmp...T-tmp_

"So what do you say madam? do we have an agreement?"

Mrs. Edelstein continued to drum her long bony fingers on her expensive redwood desk.

"...You are asking for a rather high price."

"The three of us are very good at what we do my lady," Kiku said seriously. She continued drumming her fingers on the desk. Kiku sighed inwardly and decided to try a different approach.

"Let me put it this way," he said, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, and fingers interlocked under his chin. "Do you _really _expect _Mr. Adnan's _search party to succeed in bringing her back?"

The drumming abruptly ceased.

She scrutinized the young man in front of her with shrewd eyes.

"For a new arrival to this town, you seem to have a very good understanding of the goings on here," she drawled slowly in an accusing tone.

"We make a point of staying well informed my lady," he deadpanned.

The drumming started up again as Mrs. Edelstein glared haughtily at him.

"Ah yes, you keep saying 'we'. Now, pray tell, just where are these others that you supposedly work with?"

A small smirk slowly grew on the young man's normally expressionless face and he chuckled darkly.

"Why, they are already hot on Ms. Elizaveta's trail madam."

* * *

Hearing everything she needed to, the girl dropped from her hiding spot on the window ledge to the bushes several stories below, rolling as she hit them to reduce the impact. She stood up, unscathed, and dusted off her violet dress before striding off to report to her older brother.

* * *

"Feli, please tell us what you meant when you said Gilbert and Elizaveta ran off together," Ludwig said, a good deal calmer than before. Feliciano "ve-ed" quietly, nervously fiddling with his clothes from the three pairs of eyes staring at him intently from around the kitchen table.

"Ve~ Well, Eliza t-told me she was-a leaving b-because Mr. Adnan and the Edelsteins were-a gonna be mad at her-" he started, his Italian accent and stuttering becoming more pronounced due to the pressure before Ludwig cut him off.

"Hold on a second," he interrupted, holding up a hand to halt the trembling Italian. "Why would they be mad at her?"

"Ve?~ C-cuz she dumped Roderich," he squeaked.

Ludwig stared at him in shock before suddenly slamming his forehead against the table with a loud _thud._

"Oh noooo," he groaned. This was _bad. Very _bad.

Antonio politely tapped the distressed German's shoulder.

"Excuse me, but what is so bad about that? So what if she rejected this guy?" he asked innocently.

Ludwig lifted his head slightly to gaze at the naïve Spaniard. "the Edelsteins are the most prestigious family around. You _don't_ cross them. I'd bet anything they've already sent bounty hunters after her."

* * *

"Are you sure?"

The tall Russian was so shocked he almost fell off his horse. How had they ended up in the same place as the Asian trio? ! Were they being followed?

From her dainty perch on her own horse, his sister raised an eyebrow at him, her cold icy blue eyes boring into him with their penetrating stare. Ivan coughed awkwardly.

"R-right, of course you're sure...And you weren't spotted? They didn't know you were there?"

Her eyebrow raised a little higher and the glare intensified. As the question hung in the air, Ivan cringed, realizing how stupid it was of him to ask that. _No one_ saw Natalia if she didn't want to be seen. _Ever._ She was far too good at her job.

After a long heavy silence, she finally replied.

"...No brother," her voice laden with scorn at the mere notion of her being caught spying.

Cue more awkward coughing.

"D-da, just checking," he said, hurriedly looking away from her accusing gaze, _daring_ him to doubt her recon skills again. He turned back to the road in front of them, desperately avoiding her deadly stare.

After a few incredibly uncomfortable minutes for Ivan, Natalia spoke again, continuing where she left off, informing him of the rest of the knowledge she had gathered.

Ivan continued to stare forward, contemplating the new evidence Natalia had uncovered. From what she heard while sneaking around the town, picking up scraps of information, their three rivals arrived a little before them, so it was unlikely they were being followed.

_They don't even know we're here,_ he thought, smirking to himself. They had the element of surprise on their side now.

But the Asians already had a head start on them chasing after this 'Elizaveta' girl...

Ivan sighed. He wished they had been able to strike a deal with Mrs. Edelstein first, but they were obviously beaten to the punch. They would just have to intercept the trio and capture the girl first. Mrs. Edelstein would certainly reward them heavily, she seemed like the ruthless type of person who wouldn't care who got the job done as long as she got what she wanted.

"Let's go," Ivan muttered, spurring his horse into a gallop, his sister close behind.

* * *

This was kinda short...bleeeeegh!

and this is the last chapter im gonna have so many POV changes. from here on its going to be almostly entirely from Elizaveta and Gilbert's perspectives cuz i hate having so many individual plots going on at the same time


	7. Chapter 7

Happy birthday Alfred! This chapter is dedicated to every poor tortured soul with a deformed pinky who knows what it feels like to go through the pure agony of marching in a Fourth of July parade.

And happy belated birthday to you too Canada! See, I didn't forget you Mattie! :)

review reply time!

_Kigaroo_: Asians vs Russians! Woot! XP

_Deemo_: yay a bloody jack fan! (hugs) and that's not unreasonable at all! In fact...(sniggers evilly) oh yes, I know exactly where I'm gonna put Arthur! XP but I'm afraid he won't be able to show up for quite a while, I'm planning on making this a very long story and I won't be able to fit him in anytime soon. :\ sorry

_Story Weaver1_: yeah I kinda feel bad for doing that to poor little Ita-chan...but he'll bounce back! He always does! :)

_kittycloud_: (tears up a little) t-thank you :)

* * *

"Liiiiiiizzzzzzzyyyyy!"

"What is it Gilbert?" she asked, trudging onward through the thick brambles that covered the forest, not bothering to look back at me.

"I'm tiiiiiireeed!" I moaned. Gilbird chirped, seconding my statement. We had been walking for ages, I was about to drop dead from exhaustion.

"Oh come on Gil, be a man! Just a little farther ok?" she called back over her shoulder.

"Lizzy, come on already! I know you're worried about your step-dad sending out a search party, but seriously, can't we take a break?"

She simply gave a noncommittal grunt in reply, then changed the subject. "Hey, how did Gilbird get here? I thought you left him at your house?"

I reached up to pet my feathered friend perched on my head and laughed. "Kesese! I really don't know actually! It doesn't matter where I leave him, he always manages to find a way back to me!" Gilbird cheeped again, confirming my story. "It's like he has his own awesome meter that lets him find me wherever I am!"

She chuckled, and I smiled. I loved hearing her laugh.

We walked along in silence for a few more minutes when she suddenly stopped. "Hey Gil, come look at this," she said, beckoning me closer as she crouched down in the bushes, peering over them.

I crouched down next to her, moving a branch out of the way so I could see what she was staring at. Up ahead, the trees were thinned out, and I saw a well used dirt road.

Lizzy and I glanced at each other nervously. We nodded, coming to a silent conclusion. Then she crept along quietly through the trees a good distance from the road, me following close behind, the two of us wordlessly deciding to follow the trail to see where it would lead.

It wasn't long before the path widened with smaller trails connecting to it like tributaries of a river, and we started seeing travelers, walking or riding horses, going the same direction we were. We kept going, and soon came upon a charming little inn. It was a two story building, built with warm honey colored wood and, along with the bright flowers spilling out of the window boxes, was very well kept. A worn wooden sign hanging outside the front door identified it as the Golden Flower Alehouse, and, peering in the windows, I could see people drinking and looking like they were having a grand old time. Overall, the whole place had a wonderfully cozy feel.

I gave a low whistle. "Dang, this place looks really nice." I glanced over my shoulder at Lizzy. She seemed lost in thought and more than a little worried. To be honest, as I looked back at the cute little tavern, I couldn't help but feel worried too. Lizzy and I both knew that if Sadik had sent out a search party for her, which he must have, inns and alehouses would be the first places they looked. We couldn't live off the land and steal supplies from farmers forever; sooner or later we would have to go to an inn for either food, directions, or proper beds.

Interrupting my musings, Lizzy suddenly spoke up. "Hey Gil, no one knows you're with me right?" I nodded, and she continued. "Why don't you go in there and find out if anyone there is looking for me? Come back and let me know if the coast is clear alright?"

I nodded again. "Good idea. But are you sure you'll be ok all alone out here?"

She rolled her eyes and punched me in the arm, making me cry out with pain. Lizzy could punch _hard._ "Oh _please_ Gilbert, I'll be perfectly _fine!_ Just get going already!" she said, roughly pushing me out of our hiding spot behind the bushes.

I stumbled a little then straightened up. Casting one last furtive glance at my best friend, I brushed the dirt off of my clothes and made my way towards the inn.

* * *

I pushed open the heavy wood door, breathing in the wonderful, heady smell of ale that permeated the air and ducking as a glass was thrown, shattering upon impact with the door with a soft tinkle. Not fazing me at all, I edged around the good natured bar fight and walked up to the bar. Standing behind it a young brown haired man absently cleaned a glass while watching the fight.

"Shouldn't you be breaking that up?" I asked, jerking my head towards the two men fighting, one of which now had the other in a choke hold.

"Hm? Oh, no, they just do that for fun. Besides, if they get too rowdy or start destroying too much of my stuff then Feliks will sort them out," the bartender said. "My name's Toris by the way. What can I get you?"

"Well Toris, I'm Gilbert, and I'll have a pint of the best beer you've got."

He nodded. "Sure thing," he said, disappearing around back.

While waiting for my drink, I leaned back against the bar and watched the other patrons. The two burly men who had been fighting were now staring at the ground, shuffling their feet as a young blonde in a pink barmaid dress scolded them, wagging a finger in their faces.

_I guess that's the Feliks person Toris was talking about? ...But Feliks is a boy's name...whatever. Moving on._

My gaze swept the room, several people were playing cards, a large crowd surrounding them shouting out bets on who would win, there was a drinking contest going on over to the left, three Asian men appeared to be in a deep, intense discussion in the corner to the right, and over there by the window...

I frowned, those men certainly didn't seem to be in the mood to kick back and have a good time. In fact, that one guy seemed like he was about to fall asleep right into his tankard! How he managed to be drowsy in a loud boisterous bar was beyond anyone's guess. It was almost an art form.

The rest of his company didn't seem much better. They all looked tired and frustrated, and they simply stared down at their drinks, not saying a word.

My speculation as to why the poor men were in such a bad mood was interrupted by Toris returning with my beer.

"Here you go," he said, sliding the glass along the bar. I smiled. Ah, beer, truly the greatest thing ever created.

"Cheers!" I said before raising the glass to my lips and taking a swig, draining nearly a third in just one gulp. Wow that was some good booze!

"Say, Toris?"

"Yeah?"

"There wouldn't happen to be anybody here...say, looking for someone?"

"What do you mean?" Toris asked, looking confused.

I sighed, wondering how I should put my awkward question so it would make more sense. "Ok, so uh, well, has anyone been asking around for a specific person? A girl named Elizaveta?" I spoke quietly, just in case someone working for Sadik happened to be lurking nearby, listening in.

"Um actually, yeah," Toris said, still looking puzzled. "Those guys over there were asking if anyone had seen a brunette called Elizaveta." He nodded over to the group of sullen men sitting by the window. "But why do you ask?"

I shifted around a little uncomfortably, not really wanting to discuss it, but maybe Toris could help...

"Well...Eliza is a very good friend of mine."

"Why does this friend of yours have a search party after her?" Toris asked curiously.

"She pissed off her step-father and ran away from home. You ever heard of a guy named Sadik Adnan?"

Immediately the easygoing barkeep stiffened, his mouth turning down in a grimace.

"I know him alright. The arrogant bastard comes through here every time he goes on some business trip or whatever. He always pisses off all the customers, acting all high and mighty and being a pretentious prick. No wonder the poor girl ran away."

"Yeah, he is kinda an asshole isn't he? He hired those guys to drag her back home. Do you think you could help her? Maybe give them a false lead...?" I glanced up at him hopefully and saw that Toris's eyes were filled with determination.

"Certainly," he said, giving me a curt nod then strode off to speak with Sadik's search party. After a few minutes they all got up and left. I saw them hitching up their horses and watched with satisfaction as they rode off.

I smirked into my beer, draining the last of it before setting my glass down with a thunk and getting up to go get Lizzy.

* * *

Once the search party was gone, Elizaveta kicked back and let loose. Without the threat of being dragged back to her step-father, she relaxed and soon became the life of the party, dancing and singing and making friends with everyone. She immediately hit it off with Feliks, who turned out to be a cross-dresser, and they talked and laughed for hours. Elizaveta even gained the respect of the roughest and toughest bar patrons by nearly winning an intense drinking contest, finally loosing to a rowdy Dane, who collapsed right after beating her.

Gilbert just sat back and watched her, happy that she was having so much fun. But there was one thing that was dampening his good mood. When Elizaveta had walked into the inn, the three Asian men Gilbert had seen earlier looked up in surprise and started leering at her. They went back to talking, but every now and then, one of them would glance over and smirk at her.

Trying to put them out of his mind, Gilbert scowled and ordered another beer. _What perverts. I'll have to make sure Lizzy locks her room tonight,_ he thought to himself, drinking his beer and watching as Elizaveta laughed at the group of surly men she had just schooled in a game of poker.

* * *

It was late at night, nearly midnight. The stars, sparkling like diamonds, were scattered across the dark sky. The wind whistled through the trees, making their leaves rustle in the soft breeze. Everything was calm, serene, and safe.

Or so you would think.

Elizaveta was sound asleep. After horsing around with Feliks for hours and that drinking contest, she was dead tired. She and Gilbert rented rooms at the inn for the night, and for some reason Gilbert warned her to lock her door. Elizaveta didn't see why she would need to lock her door, the search party after her was headed north on a false trail, and as far as she could see there wasn't any danger. But, too tired to object, she did as he said then collapsed onto the bed, succumbing to sleep instantly.

Lost in her dreams, Elizaveta almost didn't hear the scraping of metal as the bolt on her door was slowly pushed back.

The door opened with an ominous creak and a man walked in. She blinked blearily at him, still half asleep.

"Is that you Gil?" she mumbled, drowsiness slurring her speech. When two more men came into the room, Elizaveta started to realize something was wrong. She struggled to sit up.

"W-what-" she was cut off by one of the men pressing a strange smelling cloth to her face. She kicked and squirmed, trying to call out for help, but the drug quickly overwhelmed her.

The last thing she saw before losing consciousness was an Asian man grinning down at her.

"Nighty night da ze~," he whispered in her ear as Elizaveta's world faded to black.

* * *

DUN. DUN. DUUUUUUUN!

and just a little FYI, there's gonna be some JapanXTaiwan and ChinaXVietnam later on :)

sorry if there's any grammar mistakes and shtuff, i was kinda lazy with my editing :P


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